This week in esports: Bilibili, MAD Lions, ZeRo, OnePlus

As always, we’ve rounded up the biggest and best stories from the past week so you can stay abreast of the industry’s biggest happenings. This week in esports saw Bilibili spend big on the rights for LoL Worlds, Splyce rebrand to MAD Lions, ZeRo move to Facebook, and OnePlus partner with SK Gaming.

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Bilibili reportedly acquires Chinese broadcast rights for LoL Worlds

Live streaming platform Bilibili reportedly acquired the Chinese broadcast rights for the League of Legends World Championship for three years.

It’s said to have cost Bilibili 800 million yuan (£87.2 million) for the three-year deal, having outbid DouYu, Huya, and Kuaishou.

Read the full article here.

Splyce rebrands to MAD Lions in Riot Games’ LEC

OverActive Media announced that Splyce will no longer exist in Riot Games’ LEC, instead rebranding the team to MAD Lions.

The venture also comes with a brand new look and brand identity for MAD Lions, which will join the premier European League of Legends competition in 2020.

Read the full article here.

ZeRo enters exclusive streaming deal with Facebook Gaming

Former professional Super Smash Bros. player Gonzalo ‘ZeRo’ Barrios entered a partnership with streaming platform Facebook Gaming.

The deal will see Barrios stream exclusively on Facebook Gaming, leaving his 520,000 Twitch followers behind. The partnership news arrives just a matter of weeks after the platform signed its first major exclusivity deal with Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang.

Read the full article here.

SK Gaming finds smartphone partner in OnePlus

German organisation SK Gaming called in Chinese manufacturer OnePlus as its official smartphone partner.

As part of the deal, OnePlus will supply smartphones to SK Gaming. The organisation’s Clash Royale roster is gearing up to compete in the Clash Royale League Finals in Los Angeles, California on December 7th. 

Read the full article here.

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